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SFO Bank probe

Mr Augar says the SFO probe into Bank of England lending could get "really big" if it was found that the Bank or its employees had facilitated market manipulation. "At the very least I suspect this is yet another depressing example of our commercial banks rigging a market... Where it could get really big is if it turned out that the Bank of England, or Bank of England officials, somehow connived in what was going on."

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SFO Bank probe

BBC News Channel

BBC

How the Bank of England lent to banks during the early stages of the financial crisis is "potentially a very shocking episode," financial author and former banker Philip Augar tells BBC News. "What appears to have happened is that the commercial banks have somehow manipulated the Bank of England into giving them more money at lower rates than they really needed, and presumably then used this... to trade, to make profits on their own account."

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India marriages

Jon Bithrey

Business reporter

AP

Marriage can be an expensive business, but in places like India, it can be much more so - because families have to stump up often crippling gifts before their daughters can marry. The BBC's Vishala Sri-Pathma has been investigating during

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Petrobras corruption probe

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The opening of a Brazilian congressional probe into alleged corruption at state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) erupted into a shouting match when lawmakers rushed the dais and accused the probe's leader of seeking to manipulate the outcome.

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US factory orders

The Commerce Department also said orders for non-defence capital goods excluding aircraft - seen as a measure of business confidence and spending plans - rose 0.5% compared with a 0.6% rise the previous month.

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Muesli v granola

Live page reader Paul Williams writes: "I'm sure you are a healthy eating bunch at BBC Business but there is a distinct difference between muesli and granola - the former is server 'raw' whereas the latter is baked until crisp." Paul, you are absolutely right - granola is normally baked with honey.

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Nigel Cassidy

Europe business reporter

If Greece was looking for more immediate financial help or leeway from the European Central Bank to meet its immediate financing needs, it got a pretty dusty answer from President Mario Draghi. He said the ECB's rules prevented it from monetary financing - that is printing cash to buy sovereign bonds. So no green light for Greece, for example, to issue more debt in the form of T-bills to tide itself over.

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Nigel Cassidy

Europe business reporter

ECB chief Mario Draghi struck a slightly more optimistic tone at the start of his monthly press conference - decamped this month to Cyprus. The growth forecast he works on has been revised up slightly to 1.5% this year, rising to 2.1% in 2017 - thanks to the low oil price and the fall in the euro on the foreign exchanges. Plus the ECB's monetary measures to date.

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Pawnbroker

The UK's biggest prawnbroker has said its annual profits were hit after the price of gold fell during the year. H&T, which has 191 outlets, said its pre-tax profit fell almost 18% to £5.5m in the 12 months to the end of December as the average gold price fell 15% to £768 per troy ounce. But H&T shares rose after it maintained its full-year dividend.

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ECB bond-buying

Greece can't rely on the ECB to raise the limit on its issuing of short-term debt, Mr Draghi said. "The ECB is a rule-based institution. It is not a political institution," he said. This could limit one possible option for Athens to fund itself.

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ECB bond buying

AFP

"In one sense you could say the ECB is the central bank of Greece," says Mr Draghi. "In fact you could say the ECB is the central bank for all countries in the eurozone," The purchase programme can't buy Greek bonds, he says. That's firstly because Greece is part of a debt restructuring programme. Secondly, the ECB can only buy investment grade bonds and Greece's bonds aren't rated that highly yet. Thirdly, the ECB can't buy more than a third of a sovereign's bonds.

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ECB bond buying

BBC

The euro briefly rose to $1.1115 during Mr Draghi's press conference before falling until it was 0.4% down on the day. The drop happened after Mr Draghi said there was a chance quantitative easing could continue beyond September 2016.

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ECB bond buying

The ECB now sees GDP growth accelerating to 1.5% in 2015 from last year's 0.9% and ahead of its December forecast for 1.0%. It foresees GDP growth of 1.9% in 2016, higher than December's forecast, and of 2.1% in 2017.

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ECB bond buying

In case you were looking for Mr Draghi's exact wording on bond buying, this is what he said: "We will on 9 March 2015 start purchasing euro-dominated public sector securities in the secondary market. We will also continue to purchase asset-backed securities and covered bonds which we started last year." Hope that's clear.

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ECB bond buying

ECB

High structural unemployment and low growth in certain parts of the eurozone "is not grounds for complacency," Mr Draghi says. In a clear reference to Greece he adds "structural reforms need to be implemented swiftly... and credibly".

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ECB bond buying

Mr Draghi says domestic demand should be supported by the ECB's policy measures. Demand for European exports, for example, should increase as prices become more competitive, he adds. Mr Draghi also expects the lower oil price to be helpful over the next few months.

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ECB bond buying

ECB president Mario Draghi tells assembled journalists that bond-buying will start on 9 March. The combined monthly purchases will amount to €60bn, he adds. The intention is to continue with monthly bond purchases until September 2016. But Mr Draghi leaves the door open to continuing the programme beyond this deadline, if necessary, to get inflation back up to the bank's target of 2%.

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Braneater

Early Bird

Eighties' pop smoothies Daryl Hall and John Oates are suing an upmarket breakfast cereal maker called Early Bird, which was had the temerity to call its granola (muesli on this side of the pond) Haulin' Oats. The duo's lawyers claim the name is "an obvious play upon [their] well-known Hall & Oates mark". Chew on that.

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IAG

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Who doesn't love an LTIP? That's a long-term incentive plan in biz speak - or "windfall" if you prefer. Shares vesting under such a plan have boosted IAG boss Willie Walsh's pay package to an impressive £6.4m for 2014 - 27% higher than the previous year. Still, shareholders may not complain too much considering the share price of the BA and Iberia owner has risen 27% over the past year too.

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ECB holds rates

And now the European Central Bank has announced that it too is doing nothing to interest rates this month, leaving the main bank rate unchanged at 0.05%. We'll hear more on its bond-buying programme at the press conference at 1330 GMT.

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FCA review

Banks may be forced to compensate some customers after failing to meet standards on selling complex investment products, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has said in a review of the sector. Structured products range from alternatives to cash deposits to complex investments linked to multiple financial assets or indices. Some firms assessed by the watchdog have been asked to determine if customers were harmed.

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Interest rates

Martin Beck, senior economic adviser to the EY Item Club, says the

next rate rise could be almost a year away. "While the risks of an earlier rate rise have probably increased lately, we still think it most likely that the Bank will wait until February 2016, by which time inflation will be back above 1% and heading towards the 2% target."

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Aer Lingus

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The Irish government expects BA owner IAG to sweeten its €1.36bn offer for Aer Lingus to convince it to sell its 25% stake in the airline. Deputy prime minister Joan Burton said the transport minister anticipated "further offers forthcoming from IAG".

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TSB pay

TSB

TSB has revealed its chief executive Paul Pester (pictured) received a salary and bonuses totalling just shy of £1.9m last year. As a comparison, Barclays boss Anthony Jenkins was paid £2.3m last year. TSB listed in London last June - although its shares are 10% below the float price at 260.1p.

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Car sales up in February

Staying on a car theme, UK new car sales rose 12% in February, says the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). February car sales totalled 76,958, taking sales in the first two months of 2015 to 8.3% overall. Sales rose by nearly 10% last year, their highest rise in a decade, the SMMT said in January.